26 November 2012 - Female
Chinese tourists are mainly motivated by shopping and the
quality of product, when visiting Hong Kong
according to the SHTM’s Mimi Li and co-authors in a recently published
research
paper. Examining the travel motivations and behaviour of Chinese women,
the
researchers identify Hong Kong’s allure as a
“shopping paradise”. They also show that mainland women visit Hong Kong
to increase their knowledge of the city, enhance their own
prestige and enjoy the city’s modern image. Given that mainland Chinese
women
constitute an increasingly important sector of the travel market in
Hong Kong, the researchers’ findings have important
implications for the local tourism industry.

China’s outbound tourism market will see considerable growth over the
coming years, promoted by the country’s economic development and the
liberalisation of its tourism policy. Female travellers have been an
increasingly large proportion of this market over the last 20 years and
they
have become the primary target for many travel businesses. This
increase
“echoes the global trend”, suggest the researchers, with females
representing
“over 50% of the world’s travel population”. Women around the world now
have
more time and money for travelling, have strong purchasing power and
tend to
make the decisions about whether and where to travel.

Yet the figure of the tourist – the hypothetical traveller – is
still portrayed in masculine terms, with a focus on adventure and the
allure of
the exotic. In contrast, and despite all evidence, femininity is marked
by
signs of domesticity with its lack of individual action. Perhaps this
is why there
has been little research interest shown in the travel motivations and
behaviour
female tourists, even though women “hold dramatically different values
than men
regarding travel”. To compound the problem, remark the researchers,
what little
is known about the topic has been derived almost exclusively from
Western
societies.

It is important to increase our understanding of this area, because
“the world is looking at Chinese outbound tourism as a lucrative
market” of
which Chinese female tourists represent a huge potential segment. As
the
researchers note, because women “often dominate spending decisions in
their
family, investigation of their behaviour will certainly have
implications for
both academia and industry”.

To investigate the behaviour and motivations of female Chinese
travellers, the researchers conducted a survey at major tourist
locations in Hong Kong. The questionnaire measured the respondents’
travel motivations and covered topics such as the length of stay,
travel
companions and expenses.

Of the 204 women who completed the questionnaire, the majority
(75.5%) were aged below 35 and the rest were aged 36-55. More than half
of the
respondents were single, 35% were travelling with relatives and 31.5%
with
friends. Around 85% had chosen to travel independently rather than with
a
package tour and the primary purpose of their visit was either
sightseeing or
shopping. Half of the tourists were visiting Hong Kong
as a “stopover or secondary destination”. Almost all had allocated a
budget of
between RMB1,001 and RMB 5,000 for shopping. Although 40% were visiting
Hong Kong for the first time, over 30% visited once a
year.

The researchers analysed the respondents’ replies to the
questionnaire to identify the underlying ‘push’ and ‘pull’ motivations
of their
travel. They identified four separate ‘push’ factors that led to the
women
wanting to travel outside of mainland China: ‘knowledge and prestige’,
‘enhancement of social relationships’, ‘rest and relaxation’ and
‘adventure and
excitement’. The five ‘pull’ factors that attracted the women to Hong
Kong were
‘modern image’, ‘natural environment and attractions’, ‘safety and
cleanliness’, ‘ease of tour arrangement’ and ‘shopping’.

The top two motivations for visiting Hong Kong
were shopping and the quality of goods. According to the researchers,
shopping
is not only an “especially significant factor in considering women’s
travel
needs”, but it also tends to generate repeat visits. Furthermore, Hong
Kong is known as “a shopping paradise” that has long
been popular for its “favourable prices and the high quality of its
products”.
The researchers point out that Chinese women are independent and tend
to
control the finances of their families and dominate most of the
decisions. They
increasingly “seek to spend their cash to make themselves more feminine
and to
pamper and spoil themselves”. Thus, Hong Kong
should “do its best to provide unique and exclusive shopping
experiences”.

Knowledge and prestige were also found to be strong ‘push’ factors
for Chinese female travellers. A trip to Hong Kong,
write the researchers, offers an opportunity for Chinese women to see
something
different, increase their knowledge of a foreign destination and
experience a
different lifestyle. It is also something “they can talk about with
their
friends and relatives”. Hong Kong should thus
put “more effort into promoting other types of attractions” rather than
focusing solely on shopping.

Enjoying the modern image of Hong Kong
was also an important motivation, and confirms Hong Kong’s
image as a “showcase of Western culture and lifestyle”. However, the
increasing
competition in the region and the high number of respondents who were
visiting Hong Kong as a secondary destination suggest that to
remain competitive, it should “develop more modern-themed attractions
and
activities”.

Age and income had little effect on how respondents rated the
importance of these different motivations. However, those with lower
educational levels were more likely to be attracted by the natural
environment
and attractions of Hong Kong. Marital status had
the greatest effect on the respondents’ motivations. For instance,
knowledge
and prestige were important motivations for married women, whereas
single women
were more attracted by Hong Kong’s “modern
image, natural environment and attractions, safety and cleanliness and
ease of
tour arrangement”.

Visitors who were staying for 4-6 days were more motivated by rest
and relaxation and by Hong Kong’s natural
environment and attractions than were visitors who were staying for
7-10 days,
for whom the city’s safety and cleanliness were the most appealing
feature.

By providing insights into the travel motivations of female Chinese
tourists, the researchers indicate how the travel industry could be
targeting
this “promising market” more effectively. Hong Kong
should continue to focus on providing high quality shopping, whilst
also
promoting its other attractions and developing new ones. Marketing
strategies could be targeted to
appeal to the different sections of the female Chinese tourist market,
to
better serve the needs of an increasingly important segment of visitors.

About School of Hotel and
Tourism
Management
PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) is a
world-leading
provider of hospitality and tourism education. It was ranked No. 2
internationally among hotel and tourism schools based on research and
scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of
Hospitality
and Tourism Research in November 2009.

With 65 academic staff
drawing from
19 countries and regions, the School offers programmes at levels
ranging from
Higher Diploma to Ph.D. Currently a member of the UNWTO Knowledge
Network, the
School was recently bestowed the McCool Breakthrough Award by the
International
Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE)
recognising
its breakthrough in the form of its teaching and research hotel – Hotel
ICON –
the heart of the School's innovative approach to hospitality and
tourism
education.